Welcome to the local politics corner! I don’t want to go too deep into city elections yet, but here’s a snapshot of what’s played out in the mayoral race in the last couple weeks. We’ll have explainers on the city council races soon.
After ten years as the BPD chief and seven years of retirement, Mike Masterson is trying to make it back to city hall. (Mike Masterson for Boise Mayor / Facebook)
Masterson gets his feet set for the running.
- Like I said recently on City Cast Boise, the rhetoric of public safety and policing will be crucial in the mayoral election. Former Boise Police Department (BPD) chief Mike Masterson is already putting a lot of eggs in this basket as he challenges Mayor Lauren McLean, hoping to direct as much blame for BPD’s recent controversies on her.
- Running as an independent, Masterson is certainly to McLean’s right, but we’re still waiting to see what ideological lane he sticks with. His support from former Democratic legislator Maryanne Jordan and former mayor David Bieter should help his chances with moderate Democrats.
- Apart from decrying high housing costs and low supply, Masterson’s housing platform still seems to be in the works. He’s said that the zoning code rewrite goes too far and that he wants to see more development, but we’ll likely hear more on this soon.
McLean defeated a long-time mayor in a run-off in 2019, and has some harsh critics in her first election as an incumbent. (McLean for Boise)
Can McLean’s campaign get control of the narrative?
- I don’t know if Mayor Lauren McLean will try to employ the “we don’t want to become Portland” approach again, but it is certainly being used against her, which we’ll see a lot more of through the race.
- That’s partially because of a decade-long project: the zoning code rewrite. City council is slated to vote on that in a couple weeks, and it’s a big part of what McLean will probably hang her hat on.
- McLean’s up against a former BPD chief, but she’s still trying to stake her claim on the public safety front, as we saw in her State of the City address. There are a lot of people, however, who don’t accept her current explanations for the controversies within BPD.
